Chapter Fourteen
Lilith peered out the window of the Rolls at Saint Germain's Fine Books, a few blocks east of Grand Central Terminal. A sign on the door announced: by appointment only.
"What are we doing here?" she asked. "I thought we were going home."
"We are not doing anything here," her father said.
"You are coming here to study after school."
"But Jules and the others are waiting for me at the Belfry!"
"And they will continue to wait until your grades have improved!" Victor retorted. "Until then, Bruno is under orders to drive you to only three destinations: home, school, and here, the Central Scrivenery. I advise you to enjoy the Grand Ball as much as possible, because that is going to be the last chance you have to see your friends outside of school for a very long time."
Victor leaned across his daughter and opened the door.
"Bruno will be back to pick you up before dawn."
Lilith found herself in a huge, circular room the size of an Olympic skating rink. The ceiling loomed stories above her head. At first glance it resembled a cross between a cave, a beehive, and a public library. The walls of the scrivenery were sixty feet high and lined with numerous hand-carved niches, like those found in catacombs. Inside each niche were stacks of leather scroll cases. Lilith could see winged figures flitting back and forth from niche to niche, alternately pulling and returning scroll cases for those down below.
The floor of the scrivenery itself was crowded with reading tables and copying desks arranged in a diminishing spiral, resembling the ringed chambers of a nautilus. At the center of the great chamber stood the Master Scrivener's desk, which towered over the lesser tables like a judge's bench.
"Please make yourself comfortable," one of the assistant scriveners said, gesturing to the desks. "What scroll do you seek?"
"I dunno," Lilith said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm flunking my alchemy class."
"Alchemy, eh? Wait right here. I will be back shortly."
The scrivener shed his human guise and, with a single flap of leathery wings, took to the air, flying up to a niche thirty feet above the chamber's floor.
He returned a moment later and handed a two-footlong leather document tube to Lilith.
"Here you go," he said. "Should you require any other documents, just raise your hand and one of our staff will be happy to assist you."
"Yeah. Whatever." She shrugged. "Thanks, I guess."
Lilith waited until the spoddy apprentice dude, or whatever he was supposed to be, had walked away before unfastening the lid on the document tube and sliding its contents onto the table.
This was so incredibly stupid. It was bad enough her father had derailed her career as a supermodel, but now he was actually forcing her to study. Yuck. If Victor thought he'd frightened her into abandoning her dreams of striking out and becoming her own woman, he was seriously deluded. Oh, sure, she'd played all cowed and tearful and promised that she had learned her lesson, but in reality all dear Daddy succeeded in doing was hardening her resolve.
She had gone into modeling completely blind. Still, despite her ignorance of how things were done in the world of humans, she had succeeded in going pretty far, very fast. Now that she knew how easy it was to be someone else, she had a taste for the excitement and novelty that came with living a double life. With a wellplaced bribe or two, she was sure she could acquire a Social Security card and other forms of ID she'd need to move freely among humans.
Still, her father's threats aside, there was the unavoidable fact that her image was already starting to fade away, at least on traditional film stock. That meant it was only a matter of time before she would be invisible to digital cameras.
It seemed ludicrous to her that humans, who lived lives as short as mice compared to her people, could have figured out how to transplant organs, fly to the moon, and split the atom. Yet no one, in the twenty thousand years the vampire race had walked this world, had tried to address this serious drawback to their people. Perhaps it was time to take a page from the humans. After all, they spent billions on creams and lotions in an attempt to postpone, if not reverse, the effect of aging. If they could do it-why couldn't she?
Her father had triggered a cultural revolution the likes of which had never been seen before, simply by making the hunting of humans no longer necessary for the survival of vampires. But imagine the changes that would result if her people no longer had to fear reflective surfaces and cameras. The resulting shock waves would make Victor Todd's contribution to vampire society look like the hula hoop or Pac-Man.
Lilith smiled at the thought of her father being reduced to a footnote. She liked that idea. Yeah, she liked it a lot.
Surely, among all the centuries of collected information stored in the Central Scrivenery, there was something that might answer this question. But how to find it? How could she hope to figure out an answer to the most serious impediment to the vampire race's continued survival: the lack of a reflection? She was flunking out of Basic Alchemy, for crying out loud.
"What are you doing here?"
Lilith looked up to find Xander Orlock standing on the other side of the reading table, a parchment case in one hand and a scrivening kit in the other. He was still dressed in his Ruthven's school uniform, the tie loosened and pulled slightly askew. He was so pale the blue veins in his hands and face were visible through his skin, and his long fingers reminded Lilith of spider legs. His champagne-colored hair was brushed back from his high, wide forehead and worn in a pronounced widow's peak. With his pointed ears, arched eyebrows, and unretractable fangs, there was no way he could pass as human, but as Orlocks go, he wasn't too hideous. Still, he was an Orlock.
"What's it look like I'm doing?" she replied, not bothering to hide her irritation.
"Are you sure you haven't made a wrong turn somewhere? This isn't a nightclub."
"Duh! I hadn't noticed," Lilith said, rolling her eyes for emphasis. "If you must know, I'm here to study for my stupid alchemy class. If I don't pass, I'm going to flunk out of Bathory."
"Bummer." He cleared his throat and pointed to the chair opposite from Lilith. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
"You're kidding, right?" she said, fixing him with an icy stare.
The hopeful look on Xander's face quickly disappeared and his shoulders dropped. As he turned to leave, it suddenly occurred to Lilith that the answer to her problem was about to slip between her fingers. If anyone could invent her new cream it was Exo. She quickly pasted on her most winning smile and hurried after her target.
"Exo, I mean, Xander-come back!" she said, touching him on the arm. "Don't be silly! Of course you can sit here with me! I was just joking with you."
"Really?" he said, dazzled by the smile Lilith flashed him. "You don't mind?"
"Of course I don't mind," she said. "You are Jules's cousin, after all. Speaking of which, I thought you were staying with his family for the time being. What are you doing over here?"
"I'm doing research on a paper for my Applied Necromancy class for extra credit," he explained, looking sheepish. "I know, I know: I'm a complete spod. Jules already said so."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Lilith lied as she sat down opposite him.
Xander set the document tube he was carrying down on the table and then glanced over at the partially unrolled scroll Lilith was attempting to read.
"Did you specifically ask for that text?"
"No, the scrivener guy pulled it."
"You mean Clovis?" Xander chuckled. "He's an excellent scrivener, but if you ask him what time it is, he'll give you a scroll on watchmaking. You're better off with The Apprentice Alchemist's Guide, by Skorzeny . It's a lot easier to understand."
"Thanks, Exo," Lilith said, now focusing the full force of her smile on him. "You're really smart, you know that?"
"Yeah, well," he mumbled, dropping his gaze as he blushed.
"Jules told me you help him with his alchemy homework. Do you think you could help me, too?"
Xander blinked in surprise and looked around, as if uncertain Lilith was talking to him. "You want me to tutor you?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure about that? I mean, this isn't a joke or anything?"
Lilith leaned forward, her face a mask of seriousness.
"Does it look like I'm joking?"
"No," he admitted, "but I thought you, you know, didn't like me."
"You're being silly again, Exo!" Lilith laughed. "Of course I like you. Whatever gave you the idea I didn't?"
"I dunno." He shrugged. "Maybe it was all those times you called me creepy and told me to go away when we were growing up."
"We were just kids!" Lilith insisted. "Things have changed since then."
"Not that much," Xander replied. "Look, Lilith-I'll help you with your alchemy homework, but only if you agree to make me your escort at the Grand Ball."
"Are you crazy?!" Lilith recoiled, her voice rising so sharply it threatened to enter the ultrasonic register. Several other patrons of the scrivenery paused to look up from their research and scowl in the direction of the two fledglings.
"Okay, if you don't want my help . . . It's your decision." Xander started gathering up his things.
"It's not that!" Lilith lied again. "It's just that the Grand Ball is this weekend and I already asked Barnabas Barlow to be my escort."
"I understand," Xander said, getting to his feet. "But those are my terms; take 'em or leave 'em."
"All right! You win!" Lilith said, trying her best to mask her disgust. "You're my escort."
Xander smiled and held out his hand. "It's a deal, then?"
"Deal," Lilith agreed, suppressing a shudder. Jules de Laval reclined against the padded leather headboard of his king-size bed, idly fingering the keyboard of his Guitar Hero controller as the video game played on the fifty-inch plasma flat screen mounted on the ceiling overhead.
He hadn't heard from Lilith all night, and she hadn't shown up at the club. He wondered if she'd found out about Carmen. No, then he definitely would have heard from her. Besides, Carmen had been at the Belfry, and she didn't seem a bit scared or missing any body parts, so obviously Lilith couldn't know about their affair, at least not yet.
She needed to find out pretty soon, though, because Carmen was starting to really get on his nerves. Every time Ollie got up to get a round of drinks or hit the john, she was all over Jules, squeezing the inside of his thigh and rubbing her boobs against his arms and chest. He'd enjoyed it the first few weeks, but no more. It was time for Lilith to figure out what was going on and chase Carmen off.
Carmen had been way too easy, in every sense of the word. She was so desperate to live Lilith's life secondhand, he'd barely had to pursue her in the first place. Carmen already wore the same designers, makeup, and perfume as Lilith, so she had jumped at the chance to sleep with Lilith's boyfriend as well.
Once the truth came out about Carmen, the affair would have served its purpose, which was to make Lilith insecure and force her to focus her attention exclusively on him. Recently she had become even more self-absorbed and distant than usual. Jules suspected that she was seeing someone on the side, but appearing jealous would give her the upper hand, and he was determined to avoid that. It was better that she be the one out of control while he remained calm and collected. He needed her just as much as she needed him, but he would gladly burn before admitting it. Yes, it was definitely time for Carmen to join the ranks of the other disgraced BFFs Lilith had jettisoned from her inner circle for trying to steal her boyfriend. Once Lilith's attention waned, as it always did, he would take up with another girl. And this time he had a far more challenging conquest in his sights. Cally wasn't a part of Lilith's clique. In fact, Jules had never seen Lilith hate anyone like she hated the New Blood, not even the Maledetto sisters, whose family had a sworn vendetta against her own. The potential payoff for successfully seducing Cally might very well be keeping Lilith safely under his thumb forever. And maybe, this time, he would also keep Cally around after the fact. Perhaps that harem idea of Sergei's wasn't so crazy after all. . . .
"Hey, cuz-you busy?"
Jules glanced up as his cousin Xander stuck his head into the room. "Nah, not really." He shrugged, hitting pause on the game. "S'up, dude?"
"I, uh, just got back from the Central Scrivenery, and I thought I ought to tell you first before you heard it from someone else. . . ."
"Tell me what?" Jules frowned.
"Well, while I was doing research at the scrivenery, I ran into this girl I know. And one thing led to another, and, well, she asked me to be her escort for the Grand Ball."
"Congratulations, Exo!" Jules grinned. "I told you not to give up hope! Who's the lucky deb? Is it that Usher chick?"
"Nooo," Xander said uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not her."
"Who is it, then? Don't keep me guessing. It's got to be one of the spods from Bathory if you ran into her at the Central Scrivenery, right?"
"Not necessarily," Xander said defensively. "A lot of people besides spods use the Central Scrivenery."
"Oh, yeah?" Jules smirked. "Like who?"
"Like Lilith."
The game controller dropped from Jules's hands as if his fingers had suddenly turned to stone. "You're shitting me."
"Urlok as my witness, Lilith was there. And she asked me to be her escort."
"You're tripping, right?" Jules said, getting to his feet. "I mean, there is no way Lilith would ever set foot inside the Central Scrivenery. And I know she already had an escort lined up for the Grand Ball: Barnabas Barlow, the captain of Ruthven's flight team."
"Not anymore," Xander said with a sly grin.
"What did you do to Lilith to make her pick you over Barlow?" Jules asked suspiciously. "Did you put a charm on her?"
"I would never use sorcery on a fellow vampire,"
Xander replied, a wounded look on his face. "You know me better than that. Is it that incredible to you that Lilith would change her mind in favor of me?"
"You want me to be honest? Yes! And you know it, Xander! So what did you do?"
"If you must know, I kind of, uh, used extortion. She wanted me to help her with her alchemy homework for the rest of the school year. I told her I'd do it but only if she let me be her escort."
"Blood of the Founders!" Jules snarled. "Lilith was right about you after all. You do have the hots for her!"
"Jules, everything with a pulse has the hots for Lilith! That's never bothered you before." Xander shook his head in amazement. "Besides, I thought you'd be relieved that Barlow wouldn't be her escort. The jerk's middle name is practically 'Date Rape.' "
"Barlow isn't my friend!" Jules responded heatedly.
"You are."
"It's not like you could escort her yourself, anyway. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."
"Jealous?" Jules snorted derisively. "What do I have to be jealous of?"
"If you're not jealous, then why are you acting like this? I thought you might be surprised by the news, but I didn't think you'd be angry."
"I thought I could trust you, Xander," Jules replied sullenly.
"Trust? Ha! That's a good one, coming from you,"
Xander said with a humorless laugh. "You're the one who's always fooling around behind Lilith's back."
"That has nothing to do with this, and you know it," Jules snapped. "Now get on the phone and call her and tell her you changed your mind."
"What?"
"Tell her you're not going to tutor her and she can go to the Grand Ball with Barlow instead."
"Jules, if I don't help her with her studies, she's gonna flunk out. Is that what you really want?"
"I don't care if she flunks or not! I just want you to stay away from her!"
Xander fixed his cousin with a black stare, the last hint of affability draining from his face and voice.
"It's because I'm an Orlock, isn't it? I thought you at least were different, but Uncle Vanya was right: you de Lavals are all the same. You can't accept the fact that Dad didn't have to use a potion or a charm or a spell on Mom to make her marry him. Still, that doesn't keep your family from coveting the Orlock bloodright and wealth, does it?"
"Exo, wait-you've got it all wrong," Jules said, placing a hand on his cousin's shoulder, only to have Xander shrug it off. "You know me better than that. . . ."
"That's the trouble, Jules, I do know you," Xander replied icily. Reaching inside his book bag with his spidery fingers, he tossed a parchment scroll onto the foot of Jules's bed. "There's your homework assignment for Professor Frid's alchemy class. From now on, you're on your own. I wouldn't bother buying a new snowboard for Vail if I were you."
"Exo! C'mon, cuz! Don't do me like that." Jules laughed nervously, trying to fight the panic rising in his gut as Xander turned and headed out the door.
"See you at the Grand Ball," Xander replied, shutting the bedroom door behind him without a backward glance.